5 Lessons Learned: Nevada’s First Week of Adult-Use Cannabis Sales

We spoke to cannabis advocates and dispensary owners to pick out some of the lessons learned from the first week of Nevada’s adult-use era. Here are their top five takeaways:

1. Demand is Strong. Very Strong

In the week leading up to July 1, more than a dozen Las Vegas-area dispensary owners interviewed by Leafly said they weren’t sure exactly what to expect in terms of demand. They beefed up security and added staff to prepare for the high customer turnout, they said, but still were operating on educated guesses. At the end of the day, however, turnout far exceeded expectations.

2. Dispensary Shelves Are Well-Stocked—So Far

After a June 20 court ruling that granted cannabis distribution rights exclusively to licensed liquor distributors, could, owners across the Las Vegas Valley brought in shipments by the truckload during the last few days of medical sales. Some, including Jardin Premium Cannabis Dispensary owner Adam Denmark Cohen, closed his dispensary the day before adult-use sales began to focus on shipping as much product as possible to stock his shelves. That came in addition to months of slowly building up shipment volume to prepare for adult-use sales.

“We didn’t go crazy, but we absolutely wanted to be prepared,” Cohen said.